Pope Francis has met with survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Portugal, and the Vatican says he listened intently to them. After arriving in Lisbon, Francis also blasted Portugal's Catholic hierarchy for its response to the country's sex abuse scandal.
The response by Portugal’s bishops to the expert report’s findings, however, in some ways added to the problem. Prior to the report, Portuguese church officials had insisted there were only a handful of child sex abuse cases. After the document’s release, the bishops initially refused to remove named abusers from ministry and said they would only compensate victims if courts ordered them to.
“It is often accentuated by the disappointment and anger with which some people view the church, at times due to our poor witness and the scandals that have marred her face and call us to a humble and ongoing purification, starting with the anguished cry of the victims, who must always be accepted and listened to,” he said.
Pope Francis and Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, right, converse at the Welcome Ceremony at the Belem presidential palace in Lisbon, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. Pope Francis starts his five-day pastoral visit to Portugal Wednesday that includes his participation at the 37th World Youth Day, and a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Fatima.
“We are sailing amid storms on the ocean of history, and we sense the need for courageous courses of peace,” he said. “It is my hope that World Youth Day will be, for the ‘Old Continent,’ the aged continent, an impulse towards universal openness.”
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